The UN's human rights chief has criticised the killing of a disabled Palestinian protester at the border fence between Gaza and Israel, saying evidence gathered by his staff points to the use of "excessive" force.
Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said he was "truly shocked" at the killing of Ibrahim Nayef Ibrahim Abu Thurayeh by Israeli security forces, and has called on Israel to launch an independent investigation into the 15 November incident.
The Palestinian Authority’s health ministry said Mr Thuraya was shot just east of Gaza City, with the Israeli army saying it opened fire on the “main instigators” of violent protests at the Gaza border.
Protests have erupted throughout the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and in occupied Gaza, since Donald Trump's decision earlier this month to officially recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The response by Israel has left five people dead, hundreds injured and led to mass arrests of Palestinians, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said.
“The facts gathered so far by my staff in Gaza strongly suggest that the force used against Ibrahim Abu Thurayeh was excessive,” Mr Zeid said. “International human rights law strictly regulates the use of force in the context of protests and demonstrations.
"The lethal use of firearms should only be employed as the last resort, when strictly unavoidable, in order to protect life. However, as far as we can see, there is nothing whatsoever to suggest that Ibrahim Abu Thurayeh was posing an imminent threat of death or serious injury when he was killed.
"Given his severe disability, which must have been clearly visible to those who shot him, his killing is incomprehensible – a truly shocking and wanton act.”
Mr Thuraya had lost his legs and a kidney in an air strike, according to local reports, and was regularly seen with other Palestinian activists at protests.
“He was injured in 2008 by an Israeli helicopter that targeted him after he brought down the Israeli flag and raised the Palestinian flag along the border,” his brother Samir told AFP .
“It did not stop him from demonstrating for Jerusalem. He went alone every day to the border.”
The biggest outbreak of violence since Mr Trump's announcement has been in Gaza, where three people have been killed and hundreds more injured as protesters burned tyres, threw stones, sang songs and waved flags along the fence. Israeli security forces responded with firearms to disperse the protesters, OHCHR said.
“This level of casualties raises serious concerns as to whether the force used by Israeli forces was properly calibrated to the threat,” Mr Zeid said. “And these events, including the loss of five irreplaceable human lives, can sadly be traced directly back to the unilateral US announcement on the status of Jerusalem, which breaks international consensus and was dangerously provocative.
"At the same time, I unequivocally condemn all attacks against civilians, including the indiscriminate shelling of Israeli civilian areas by armed Palestinian groups operating out of Gaza."
The Independent has contacted the Israeli embassy for comment.
